Gurchathen joined the School of International Relations as a Lecturer in 2007 and was, eventually, promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2017. He was promoted to Professor in 2023.

He is the co-Deputy Director of the Minorities Research Centre at the University. He is a member of the Arts and Humanities Research Council's Peer Review College and a member of the Academic Adviser Panel at the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission. In 2020, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Previously, he was an Associate Director at the ESRC's Scottish Graduate School for Social Sciences (2017-2020) and Pro Dean of Arts and Divinity (U/G) at the University (2012-2014). He has a BA(Hons) and PhD from Peace Studies, University of Bradford.

Gurchathen’s research explores the complexities of social justice and, in particular, the discursive and material reproduction of marginalisation and exclusion globally, nationally and locally.

More specifically, his research is concerned with examining the ways in which various forms of discrimination intersect (for example caste, class, gender, geographical, sexual, religious) to shape people’s everyday lives and how, in turn, people respond to such processes. This work draws on empirical research and is also informed by theoretical debates.

Gurchathen’s research falls within the following four themes:

1. Critical approaches to human rights:

• Social constructionism
• Postcolonialism
• 'Politics' of human rights
• Children’s rights.

2. Child labour in India:

• Causes (caste, class, gender, religion) and implications
• State-subaltern relations and structural violence
• Political-economy of India and elite-led development
• Human rights in India
• Neoliberal globalisation and India
• Resistance.

3. The politics of race and ethnicity in the UK:

• Social capital and social mobility
• Islamophobia and racism
• Gender experiences and responses
• Social and political identities
• Resistance and resilience.

4. Qualitative research: 

• Positionality and intersectionality
• Gatekeepers
• Researching marginalised groups.